Corbett Prep’s Physical Education unit “Teambuilders and Cooperative Activities” guides first and second graders through an investigation of what makes a great teammate. Students face challenges as a class to work together to achieve different goals. Students have opportunities to take leadership roles, strategize, and reflect on what worked and what changes they could make to improve. Their reflections also support discussions they have in class about healthy choices in the International Baccalaureate unit of inquiry “Who We Are.”

This year the PE team incorporated the book “The Hard Hat for Kids: A Story About 10 Ways to Be a Great Teammate” by Jon Gordon and Lauren Gallagher. The main character is an athlete who is the best player on her team and is shocked when another player receives the coveted Hard Hat award for being the best teammate. Her grandfather asks her to observe this player to see what made him the right choice for the award. She discovers the secret to being a great teammate: “We before me.”
 
Coaches used this story as a springboard to ask kids what they think it takes to be MVP (Most Valuable Player) and who they admire in different sports. Students named players who score the most points, steal the most bases, have the best batting averages, run the fastest and other achievements.

Then coaches talked about teamwork. They challenged students to combine their takeaways from the book and their experiences in the teambuilders unit to generate a list of characteristics and qualities they thought the MVT (Most Valuable Teammate) would possess.
 
Each student selected a word that made an impression on them and wrote it down. Our art teacher helped us turn their words into a poster that hangs in the gym with the hashtag “MVT.” Now when our students are playing together, they can draw inspiration from the qualities they and their classmates included and act as true teammates.